Confidence born from his overall victory last week at the Dubai Tour has Taylor Phinney looking to keep that success rolling for the BMC Racing Team at the Tour Méditerranéen.

Final Stage Features Uphill Finish
The five-day race in France begins Thursday and includes an 18.2-kilometer individual time trial as the penultimate stage. At the Dubai Tour, Phinney won the Stage 1, 10.1-km time trial on his BMC timemachine TMR01 by 14 seconds ahead of teammate Steve Cummings, who is also on the roster. “For sure, the victory in Dubai has given me a lot of confidence,” Phinney said. “The time trial there is definitely a big goal. It is supposed to be a bit hilly, but I will give it my all regardless and hopefully come away with another big result. As for the overall, I will try and go for some of the more difficult sprint stages. But with the last stage finishing on Mont Faron, that would be a big ask to stay up there with the climbers. If I could win the time trial and have a day in yellow, I would be quite satisfied.”

Hushovd Eyes Flat Finishes
The BMC Racing Team’s roster also includes Norwegian national road champion Thor Hushovd, a stage winner here in 2008 and past top 10 finisher (fifth in 2003). Cummings (9th in 2011) and Amaël Moinard (9th in 2008) are also past top 10 placers. Hushovd said he was pleased with the start of his season at the Dubai Tour and aims to win one of the three flat stages. “I’m very happy with how things went in Dubai,” the past world road champion said. “The team did a great job and I felt better day-by-day. So I should be good. I always need a race to get my rhythm and race legs ready.” Sport Director Yvon Ledanois said he hopes to keep the BMC Racing Team’s winning ways going. “Taylor will have the opportunity to show in the time trial and we will have other opportunities to well on the general classification,” Ledanois said. “But the most important goal for us is to keep the urge to do the maximum for the next major objectives of the team.”